Broadcast radio has adapted to the digital music environment by adding RDS information to its broadcasts. The term broadcast radio is used herein consistent with its normal understanding, a wireless transmission intended for public reception, rather than a point t point message. Radio Data System RDS is text and data transmitted with a broadcast radio signal by radios with an RDS decode capability, which typically display some of the RDS information as text to a user.
There are fifty or more different RDS categories, including station name, program type or PTY flag (e.g., pop, rock, talk radio); travel announcement or TA flag, enhanced other networks or EON flag, alternative frequency or AF flag, time and date or CF flag, and radio text. The station name is generally eight digits maximum, such as “Jazz FM” or the actual station identifier (e.g., BBC4, WTIC). The TA flag can be switched on when a radio station starts a travel report, and switched off at the end, so that the user's RDS compatible radio receiver can switch to a station carrying travel news (or in a car, pause a cassette or a CD) when local travel news is broadcast. The EON flag allows an RDS radio receiver to know about other associated stations, so a radio can know that when listening to one program, it should keep an ear on another (local) station for relevant travel news. The AF flag contains information about the current station's other FM frequencies, so that the radio can switch to a better signal while driving. The CF flag carries the current date and time, which automatically resets the clock in RDS clock radios and updates for seasonal time changes.
The radio text information ‘scrolls’ across RDS radio displays, providing information that's sent from the radio station. When a compatible radio receiver is tuned to a broadcast radio station that broadcasts RDS information, the receiver is tuned to a broadcast event and displays on a graphical display interface certain of the RDS information as text, such as the station name, program type, or information about a song being played such as title, artist, and/or album. This is not normally fitted to an in-car radio, as it's seen as a distraction to drivers.
The original RDS was developed by the European Broadcast Union EBU in 1984. Among those skilled in the art, the features of RDS are known by a large number of abbreviations, such as PS (Program Service name), PTY (Program Type), AF (Alternative Frequency list) and ODA (Open Data Applications). A more detailed review of RDS and its latest advancement, Radiotext Plus (RTplus), can be found in the specification entitled: “Radiotext plus (RTplus) Specification” (version 1.0), RDS Forum 2005 R05/036—1. RTplus was jointly developed by the Westdeutscher Rundfunk WDR, Nokia Corporation and the Institut für Rundfunktecknik IRT.
RTplus provides additional information elements over standard RDS. Some examples illustrate the potential uses of these additional information elements. While a broadcast station broadcasts a song, RTplus provides classes of information while that song is being broadcast, in addition to regular RDS, that may indicate when and where the song artists might be playing in concert locally. The broadcast radio station may promote a contest, and the RTplus information broadcast with that promotion might provide a phone number, email address, and/or SMS address to register a vote or entry in that contest. While broadcasting an advertisement, the associated RTplus information might provide a link to an Internet page (URL) that relates to the product or service being advertised. While broadcasting a weather report or news, RTplus may provide a link to the broadcast station's local weather page or breaking news page of its web domain. Much like domains within the Internet, RTplus provides a depth of information that may be further explored by interested users, in this case, interested radio listeners.
What is needed in the art is a way to facilitate interested users to access and explore that additional information that RTplus provides.